France’s president, François Hollande, is holding emergency security meetings today before heading to Nice, where at least 84 people were killed when a truck was driven into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day late Thursday. Mr. Hollande called it a terrorist attack.

Secretary of State John Kerry has met with President Vladimir V. Putin in Moscow to discuss a military cooperation agreement that would coordinate air attacks on the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.

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Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, told NBC News that it was only a matter of time until he regained full control of the country.CreditSANA

Business

• Private equity firms are using sophisticated political maneuvering with state and local entities to smooth their path to growth and revenue.

• China reported today that its economic growth continued to slow in the most recent quarter, but its numbers are notoriously questionable.

• Interest rates are ultralow across the globe (thank you, British voters and global central banks). Those rates are telling us about the economic future and might get you to think about refinancing your mortgage.

Back Story

The HBO crime drama “The Night Of” premiered this week and is earning rave reviews. In short, a Pakistani-American college student borrows his father’s New York City taxi and has the worst night of his life.

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The map of London looks like a spider’s web.CreditDan Kitwood/Getty Images

The limited series is based on the BBC’s “Criminal Justice” (2008). That was set in London, where prospective cabdrivers face a battery of tests like no other.

The “Knowledge of London” exam is often called one of the most difficult in the world, and preparation takes years to complete.

If you want to drive one of the city’s black cabs, you must memorize not just 25,000 streets, but the businesses or landmarks on them — like a flower stand or a laundromat.

Adding to the difficulty are curvy and squiggly streets, one-way roads, dead ends and traffic circles. But knowing all that isn’t enough. Drivers need to know the most efficient routes, too.

And then there’s the River Thames, which meanders so much that sometimes the shortest route can take a driver across it twice. Addresses can also be confusing, even if you’ve made it to the right street.

Applicants must take a written test, and a series of oral exams that are progressively harder.

Half or more of aspiring drivers drop out. But those who pass seem to end up with bigger brains.

Scientists have found that the posterior hippocampus, an area of the brain important for memory, is larger in London taxi drivers.